Brisbane: As soon as the new year starts, tennis is ready to make a splash in Australia and New Zealand, the main attraction of which will be the Australian Open starting from January 18. Just over six weeks after the ATP and WTA 2025 Finals, players on the men’s and women’s tours are arriving in Australia and New Zealand, where they will compete in a variety of tournaments for two weeks ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in Melbourne.
The most important of these is the United Cup which is a mixed team tournament and will start on Friday and end on January 11. This tournament will be played in Perth and Sydney. Four players each from the top 10 male and female players in the world will participate in this tournament. These include Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Iga Swiatek, Alexander Zverev, Jasmine Paolini and Felix Auger Aliassime.
Also the main attraction at the Brisbane International during the first week of 2026 will be defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who is coming from a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ exhibition match against Nick Kyrgios in Dubai. But two of the biggest names in men’s tennis, world number one Carlos Alcaraz and second number Yannick Sinner, will not be playing in the tournaments before the Australian Open.
Alcaraz and Sinner have won 9 of the last 10 Grand Slam singles titles. They have decided to play an exhibition match in Incheon, South Korea on January 10. After this he is expected to come to Australia to start his preparations at Melbourne Park. Alcaraz will play his first Grand Slam tournament in seven years without his longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Spanish player had recently announced his separation from his coach. Alcaraz has not yet announced the name of its new coach.
Other players participating in the United Cup include Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka. Wawrinka has already announced that the year 2026 will be his last year on the tour. The United Cup will begin with the match between Greece and Japan in Perth on Friday.
Apart from Sabalenka, Amanda Anisimova, WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina, current Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Mira Andreeva will also participate in the Brisbane International. ATP-WTA Adelaide International, another warm-up tournament for the Australian Open, will be played from January 12 to 17, the main attraction of which will be 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic. A WTA 250 tournament will also be held in Hobart, Australia.
Women’s Tennis Tournament (WTA) will be held in Auckland city of New Zealand from January 5 to 11. After this, the ATP tournament will be played at the same venue from 12 to 17 January. Kyrgios and Frances Tiafoe will also play an exhibition match at Kooyong in Melbourne a few days before the start of the Australian Open. Apart from Australia and New Zealand, an ATP tournament will be played in Hong Kong from January 5 to 11.
